Just booked our flights to Belgium. Can’t hardly wait.

December can’t come soon enough.

Ah, mud, sand, drunk fans, fresh bread, all-bran choco, cecemel, good friends, cow pastures, real yogurt… So sweet. Very very sweet.

Feeling stoked right now. Just finished talking to coach Steve. We talked about everything – my training, form, mindset, the past few weeks, and upcoming races.

Basically everything is looking good. I’m feeling good. Numbers are looking good. Form is on. Skills are right where they need to be. All in all – confident. Confident with the work I’ve done and where it will take me.

Some interesting points that Steve made: “This is a new year. Don’t go into the race thinking you should be here or there – just race as hard as you can.” This is the thing I mentioned to Steve. It seems I hurt so much more in training than I do in racing. Strange. So the big goal this weekend is to hurt. To hurt and to commit to the race. Does this happen to you ever? I don’t know what it is – a little bit of fear perhaps?

Maybe the brain remembers those early racing days where I went so hard and hurt so bad and still got dropped. So deep down there is some kind of block?

Well, I’m going to find the key this weekend and unlock the wall of hurt. I want it.

So this is where I am. Really looking forward to racing. To testing myself and pushing myself to my limits. There is no pressure. Just go out and have fun. The hard part is done – the training is done. Stay smooth. Focused. Pedal hard. Drill it.

Then when all is said and done on Sunday – stop off at Moe’s in Burlington for a big burrito and chai latte at Sbucks for the drive home. Mmm, I love cyclo-cross.

Picked up some hot new wheels and glasses today. Thanks OGC! I’m uber-pumped to be racing on the Mavic Carbones and to be flashing my new Giro Havik glasses. Not only will I be fast but I’ll look good doing it!

P.S. Reminder about the OBC cyclo-cross registration at The Cyclery tonight. 5 – 8 p.m.

Back home. Back to cyclocross and all things bike. Sorry for the short intermission – I was in Toronto to attend my little bro’s wedding.

I did manage to get in a most excellent ‘cross ride on Friday before leaving. Hit up the trails at Woodroffe/Slack. Some cool stuff in there. Ended the ride with an awesome eno on some roots… Anyway, it was just what I needed – grooving in the trails, grass, sand, and nature. Going back this afternoon for some more.

Lots of racing on the weekend. Actually I think everyone race but me. Ah well – no biggie – it is a long season. First off – congrats to Marc for his second place in Hamilton in the M1 race. Sounds like it was a pretty cool course and had a bit of everything (stay tuned for a race report from Marc.) Next – massive shout out to Steve for his double-weekend wins in Michigan in the M35 race. Awesome racing Steve! Super happy for you. And in Magog, Quebec – congrats to Robbie O. for taking the Masters 40 race. Not to be overlooked is Natasha’s double-weekend wins in Michigan. Congats.

Pretty amazing racing for the Ottawa ‘cross racers. Signs of even more good things to come. Up this weekend are the first two races of the New England Verge Series. We’re heading down to Burlington, VT., on Friday for a couple days of racing. Should be good. Can’t wait to get out there and test the legs, lungs, and brain. Not to mention show off the new Ottawa Cross kit!

The Ride with Rendall cyclo-cross clinic wraps up this evening. Looking forward to hearing all about the immersion clinic. Don’t forget the training this Wednesday at Britannia – 5:30.

Are you racing in the OBC cyclo-cross series? Then get yourself to The Cyclery either Tuesday or Wednesday night between 5 and 8 p.m to pre-register for the series. You’ll be glad you did and can avoid the long line ups on Sunday morning.

I’m in the build phase right now. Building fitness. Building skills. Building mental strength and confidence. Build. Build. Progress. Progress.

To help with this I got to sit behind a motorbike for a while last night. Motor pacing. For those of you that have done it – you know the pain I’m talking about it. If you haven’t tried it – you’re missing out. Motor pacing helps build leg speed, tests your limits of suffering, teaches you quickly how to find shelter from the wind, and lets you go fast. I don’t really “like” motor pacing. But I appreciate it when I’ve done it. Last night was no exception. We hit it out for a 45 minute tempo session. Felt pretty good. The kickers and rollers are a real challenge. I spent most of the time staring at the back of the bike – willing myself not to loose contact. All in all, an excellent session. Thanks Kris!

So, I missed the training session at Britannia Park last night. By all accounts it sounds like there was an excellent turn out with lots of new faces. Marc also said they did some pretty nifty drills. I hope to be there next week. Remember, the sessions are open to anyone – regardless of skill level, club affiliation, etc. Just come out and have some fun.

So we are currently debating the US Gran Prix races in Kentucky. Do we go? It is a long drive. But the racing will be top-notch. I’ve checked the race calendar at Cyclocross Magazine, but there is not much else going on that weekend (that is closer for us). So what do you think? We need to decide soon, as Marc’s category fills up pretty quickly. Ah, I don’t know what to do…

Got in a great training session this morning with Marc and Steve (the fabulous designer of the Ottawa Cross kit). After some follow the leader we got down to some drills. This time it was all about cornering with speed. To get the free speed we set up two corners – on the side of a hill. I think we all progressed nicely testing our cornering speed limits and trying out different techniques. Things got a bit hairy when we decided to turn our loop into a figure 8. Lets just say, we had some near crashes! Thanks guys for the help – much appreciated. The best part of this session, was a very salient comment that Steve made as we were packing up. Initially I had been struggling with the drill – moving slowly, creeping up the hill, and generally just not moving very fast. Then something clicked and I started getting faster and smoother.

About this Steve said: “I thought it was your gearing – maybe you weren’t in the right gear at the beginning – but you used the same gear through out. Really, you just weren’t trying hard enough.”

Wow – this was perfect. I needed to hear this from Steve. Having someone other than Marc point this out is important. I realized he was correct. I wasn’t trying hard enough. I noticed this on Monday as well – I was creeping up a hill. Then something clicked and I started actually pedaling hard and fast. Yeesh – funny how I have this “lazy” trend in my cycling. This revelation made the training session totally worth it.

I’m loving the Ottawa Cross kit. I wore the long sleeve skinsuit this morning. Love it. Fast. Sleek. Awesome.

Okay, here is a video trailer for you to enjoy. Can’t wait to get my hands on this:
9 Ball Diaries.

Here are some deep words from one of the master technicians of cyclo-cross (Adam Myerson -who else?):

“You ONLY step through if:

1. You’ve clipped out of the left pedal already and are riding on the arch of your foot.

2. It’s a fast approach to the barrier so you have sufficient time to set up and coast.

The default dismount is to clip out of the left first, and just step off around the back with the right foot. That works every time, in every situation.

Option 2 is to stay clipped on the left, and step around the back with the right. Turning your hips as you step off is the key to releasing the left pedal. This is good if you have to pedal all the way up the barrier, or are dismounting on a hill or in mud where you pedal until the last moment.

Option 3 is stepping through, and it’s something you should use somewhat rarely. Unfortunately, because it’s the “fastest” dismount, people treat it as the default, and end up doing it still clipped in on the left, and losing teeth on barriers.

NEVER step through if you’re still clipped in on the left NEVER NEVER NEVER!”

Enough said!